Quality Education

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South Africa: Bow tie wearing teacher tackles education inequalities

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South Africa/ April 25, 2018/Source: https://www.brandsouthafrica.com

Play Your Part programme is Brand South Africa’s nationwide programme that encourages active citizenship and looks to impact the country positively in order to fulfil the bigger picture of building a positive Nation Brand.

Active citizenship means people get involved in their local communities and democracy at all levels, from towns and cities to nationwide projects and dedicating their own time/resources / talents to contribute to their local communities.

There are numerous opportunities, big and small, for each and every individual to make a positive difference in the communities in which they live and operate.

Founder of “Bow Tie Challenge”, Chris Megaffin, is a teacher who is originally from Toronto, Canada.  He is a fashion activist who is on a mission to fight for social justice and he is using bow ties to achieve this.

Earlier this year the Bow Tie Challenge was launched.  The Bowtie Challenge is a fund-raising initiative that was born as a result of his passion for teaching, interest in fashion and desire to make a difference in his local community.  Chris pledged to wear a different bow tie every day for 365 days a year starting January 1st, 2018.

“As an international teacher, I have come across educational inequalities in every country where I have taught and I have always wondered what I could do to make difference in the lives of these children”.

South Africa has some of the highest levels of socio-economic inequality in the world, and this is nowhere more apparent than in the educational system across South Africa.  Statistics South Africa also show that children from disadvantaged backgrounds spend an average of 3 years less time in school than their privileged counterparts.

Also, fewer of these children are put into early childhood development programmes – which we know to be fundamental to a child’s education and development.  The situation feeds youth unemployment, and contributes to general instability in the country, as millions of South Africans cannot afford to buy food or access healthcare, decent sanitation and other essentials of a dignified life.

Chris is using the campaign to raise awareness about the importance of education and to raise funds for Afrika Tikkun. Afrika Tikkun is a non-profit organization with a mission to provide children from underprivileged communities in South Africa with high-quality education and development from cradle to career.

Ensuring quality education is a national priority. The National Development Plan describes education as a key lever to improving the quality of life in a society. Education improves the overall skills and abilities of the workforce, leading to greater productivity which contributes to economic growth.

Chris is collaborating with some of South Africa’s up and coming designers who will help design the bow ties.  He says this is to help support local businesses and give the designers exposure.

 

Meet local designer Shwezu

Shwezu have designed a bow tie especially for the campaign in the colours of the South African flag.

“When approached with the opportunity to design and produce a range of bow ties for this initiative, we didn’t hesitate for a second. Not only is it fun, colourful, creative and inspiring but it also resonates with Shwezu.co.za‘s ultimate aim – to contribute to the growth and prosperity of our nation. For this reason, we only use local materials and producers to create our unique Shwezu Shweshwe bow ties and other products. We strongly believe that by acquiring new skills (e.g. fashion design and sewing) through a good education, the youth of South Africa have the ability to unlock countless opportunities to grow and thrive.”

Shwezu is an online store for South African inspired fashion, shoes, bags, accessories and gifts all tied together by one common denominator, Shweshwe – the iconically South African fabric.

How to get involved

  • Donate to The Bow Tie Challenge via http://thetravelingeducator.com/2017/09/the-bowtie-challenge
  • Share the Challenge on social media to raise awareness about the inequalities of education in South Africa
  • Join the challenge, upload a photo of yourself wearing a bow tie to any social media platform #bowtiechallenge

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/thebowtiechallenge/?ref=bookmarks

Twitter – https://twitter.com/bowtiechallenge

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/the.bow.tie.challenge/

Source:

Bow tie wearing teacher tackles education inequalities

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Kenya: Pan-African conference on education kicks off in Nairobi

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Kenya/April 24, 2018/By OUMA WANZALA and By FAITH NYAMAI/ Source: https://www.nation.co.ke/

Kenya’s education sector reforms will top discussions by close to 600 scholars and education policy makers in Africa attending a major conference in Nairobi which will officially open on Wednesday.

About 50 Education ministers from African are attending the Pan-African Conference on Education 2018 that ends on Friday.

Education Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed is expected to present the progress made in the country’s education reforms, including its attempts to meet the SDGs targets.

Speaking at Safari Park Hotel on Monday ahead of the conference, Ms Mohammed said the meeting will focus on improving the quality of education in African continents.

“The discussions will revolve on challenges, and coming up with monitoring mechanisms that will help all African countries improve their education system,” she said.

The CS said, Kenya has so far made huge strides of progress in the education sector among them the introduction of the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS) in primary and secondary schools.

Other steps that Kenya has made is the introduction of the Competency based curriculum that is being piloted nationally since January.

Ms Mohamed said, the main goal is to champion for equitable inclusive quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.

She said it will further provide a forum to assess the strides Africa has made in ensuring inclusive quality education and lifelong learning as enunciated in Sustainable Development Goals, 2030, and Continental Strategy for Education in Africa 2016-2025 (CESA 16-25).

The ministers will also discuss on how they can begin to implement the agenda 2030 and assess the progress so far

Kenya is hosting the conference in collaboration with UNESCO and African Union.

The Nation has learnt that the ministry has prepared a special paper detailing the exact position of the country regarding gender disparities, the enrolment between science and arts courses, and provision of free education.

The Conference, to be held under the auspices of UNESCO and African Union, will also draw participants from the public and private sector.

Under Development Goal 4, Governments are obliged to “ensure equitable inclusive quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all”.

In an effort to support the Continent’s development vision, African Countries, under the auspices of the African Union, endorsed CESA 16-25.

It aims at “Reorienting Africa’s education and training systems to meet the knowledge, competencies, skills, innovation and creativity required to nurture African core values and promote sustainable development at the national, sub-regional and continental levels.”

Ms Mohamed is expected to outline the challenges facing the country’s education sector, which have affected the government’s push to have 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary schools.

Ms Mohamed will also likely report on how the Directorate of Quality Assurance and Standards will address the perennial problems, including checking teacher absenteeism and inadequate syllabus coverage, among other unprofessional practices.

She will also address the ongoing curriculum reforms, whose Competence-Based Curriculum, format is undergoing a national pilot phase.

“The Ministry is administering a national pilot exercise, which will provide credible data to enable us make critical decisions going forward,” Ms Mohamed said.

Another sector of education reforms is spearheaded by the Kenya National Examinations Council, which has been charged with the responsibility of ensuring that our national examinations are highly credible.

This year, the Government introduced the free day secondary school programme seeking to assure 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary education.

The Government has so far spent Sh29 billion on the free day secondary school programme.

Last week, the government said it had started intensive reforms in Vocational and Technical Training.

Every Kenyan, Ms Mohamed said, must be trained and empowered with the skills to drive a 24-hour economy.

“It is our duty to train for the attainment of this vision. So I ask you all to support us as we roll out programs in these two sectors,” said the CS.

Source:

https://www.nation.co.ke/news/education/Pan-African-Conference-on-Education-Nairobi/2643604-4520970-m6k0pw/index.html

 

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EEUU: Utah leaders hope education measure helps keep teachers

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EEUU/April 17, 2018/By JULIAN HATTEM. The Associated Press/Source: https://www.seattletimes.com

Political leaders in Utah said Monday they hope a new ballot measure that would nearly triple education funding in five years will help the state entice and hold on to its best teachers.

The ballot initiative will give voters the opportunity to support an increase in the gas tax, currently 29.4 cents a gallon, by 10 cents to gradually increase education funding over the next five years. The proposal was crafted as part of a compromise between lawmakers and an education group that wanted voters to approve a plan that would have sent $715 million to the schools immediately through a hike in state sales and income taxes.

Combined with other funds and a freeze on state property tax rates, which would otherwise drop as property values rise, the initiative would increase education funding yearly starting at $141 million in 2019 and reaching $386 million in 2023.

That would raise overall state education funding to $585 million — nearly three times the funding schools would otherwise receive that year.

If voters approve the measure in November, lawmakers would decide how to allocate the new educational spending, including how much will go to teachers.

The initiative comes as other states grapple with standoffs over teacher salaries that have led to mass protests from West Virginia to Arizona. Last week, thousands of teachers in Kentucky protested at the state Capitol and cheered as lawmakers overruled a veto of a budget that would increase public education spending.

“We need to make sure we can pay our teachers and attract the best and brightest and retain them in the schoolrooms,” Republican Gov. Gary Herbert said at a ceremonial signing for the bill at an elementary school in suburban Salt Lake City on Monday.

Heidi Matthews, the president of the Utah Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, said the money could be used for classroom assistants to give students “more one-on-one learning and alleviate the impact of Utah’s exceptionally large class sizes.”

Additional funding will ensure teachers “have the resources they need to reach, teach and inspire every student and deliver the high quality education that they deserve,” she said.

Utah’s spending per pupil in school is the lowest in the nation. The state spent an average of $6,575 per student in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, compared to $11,392 nationally.

The state also has some of the nation’s fullest classrooms, according to Department of Education data.

Source:

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/utah-leaders-hope-education-measure-helps-keep-teachers/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all

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United Kingdom: Measures to deliver quality education across all settings

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United Kingdom / April 15, 2018 / Author: Editorial Staff / Source: Government of the United Kingdom

A package of measures to help make sure children receive the best possible education either at home or outside of school have been announced today (10 April).

A package of measures to help make sure children receive the best possible education either at home or outside of school have been announced by School Systems Minister Lord Agnew today.

The announcement will support the families of the estimated 45,500 children that are educated at home, providing parents and local councils with strengthened guidance so both understand their rights and responsibilities.

A Call for Evidence has been launched to ask for the views of parents and local authorities on how to ensure children receive the expected standard of education at home, including:

  • How local authorities can monitor the quality of home education to make sure children are taught the knowledge and skills they need;
  • How effective registration schemes are for children who are educated at home; and
  • How government can better support those families who choose to educate their children at home.

The Education Minister also announced £3 million to support the joint working of local authorities, the police, Ofsted, the government and other agencies in tackling the minority of out of school settings that seek to undermine British values or expose children to other harmful practices. This work will help to share best practice across the country.

Today’s announcement builds on the recently launched Integrated Communities Strategy, which had education at its core. It is part of the drive to ensure all children receive the best possible education, with 1.9 million more pupils in good or outstanding schools than in 2010 thanks to the government’s reforms and the hard work of teachers.

Minister for School Systems Lord Agnew said:

Across the country there are thousands of dedicated parents who are doing an excellent job of educating their children at home, and many selfless volunteers working for clubs and organisations that help to enrich children’s education outside of school.

It is right that we should build on the high standards we’ve set in our schools so that every child receives a suitable and safe education – no matter where they are being taught – and that we can act quickly in the rare instances when this is not the case. This support for families and local communities will help ensure all children get the education they deserve.

The Call for Evidence will run for 12 weeks and will ask for views from families that choose to educate their children at home, local authorities and home education support groups. The issues raised include the registration of children who are home educated and the monitoring of home education provision by local authorities. It will build on the existing requirements for local authorities to identify children they believe are not receiving a suitable education and their powers, which can ultimately include serving a School Attendance Order.

The government is also consulting on revised guidance for parents and local authorities to support them in making sure home education provision is of the highest possible standard. This guidance will set out the processes by which local authorities should identify children who are being educated at home and how best to intervene if they are not receiving a suitable education. For parents, it will offer support and advice on whether or not home education is the right decision for them and their child, while also making clear the powers that local authorities have and the steps parents should take if concerns arise.

The Department for Education has also published its response to the consultation on regulation for out of school settings – environments that enrich children’s education. The department has carefully considered over 18,000 responses and has already taken action by establishing a £3 million targeted fund which will go to selected areas to support work between local authorities and relevant agencies. It will be used to show how existing legal powers can be most effective in addressing safeguarding and welfare concerns, alongside community engagement and outreach. This work will inform the need for any future regulation.

A consultation on a voluntary code of practice for out of school settings will be published later this year to set out what is expected of providers, and the Department will work with local authorities to provide guidance to parents on out of school settings.

Source of the News:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/measures-to-deliver-quality-education-across-all-settings

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Need to give quality education in India to students who fly overseas: Rajan

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India/March 27, 2018/By: Anup Roy & Nikhat Hetavkar/Source: http://www.business-standard.com

We have fantastic institutions. But remember, we have so many young children coming in now, looking for admission into colleges, says Rajan.

Eminent economist and former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan is part of an elite group that launched a unique undergraduate liberal arts private university. In an exclusive chat with Anup Roy and Nikhat Hetavkar, Rajan says there is a need to give quality education in India to students who fly overseas every year. Edited excerpts:You are on the advisory council of KREA University. Will you be teaching also? Just like I was previously associated with ISB (Indian School of Business), I go there once in a while, I taught a course there, and I visit classes. My wife teaches there now. So, there will be an engagement of course. I am working with the academic council and the board. It’s a bunch of people who have come together. I don’t want to occupy any bigger position than I am holding now. I am merely helping, along with a large group of very dedicated people.You are a product of an Indian education system.What do you think the system is lacking now? We have fantastic institutions. But remember, we have so many young children coming in now, looking for admission into colleges. And our system is inadequate in terms of numbers to serve all of them with high-quality education. And of course, every time there is an opportunity to rethink what the old institutions are doing. Can we do things differently? Is there room for something new even when the old continues? We need more institutions to meet the demand. We have 100,000 students going abroad every year. So, we have room for at least 100 universities of very high quality to service those 100,000 students. We have the freedom to create a new model and that’s what is exciting.Why is Dr Rajan, who is very much a public figure, not engaged in the public education system, and why do you have to branch out to the private sphere? It’s not much of private. The intention is to make it available to those who qualify. There will be scholarships for those who can’t afford to pay. There is far more flexibility in creating a new institution when you come together without the existing structures.

That’s why it’s important to try and experiment outside the formal public structure.But even then the fee is Rs 700,000-800,000 per annum for a four-year course. This is what it costs. When we talk about IITs, you will have to look at what the true cost per student the country is paying. Now that is buried somewhere in the government budget. And students are paying only a fraction of it. I paid a fraction of the cost it took the country to educate me. With private institutions, the cost is all out there. If you want quality, you want to pay your faculty a reasonable amount, you want buildings as places in which you feel like learning, you have to spend money. What we are trying to say is that we will try and ensure that anybody who is admitted can afford to pay. Certainly in this country we can’t subsidise education too much.

Education inflation was always a worrying factor for you. Now that if you have such a high fee structure for a premier institute, there is a good chance that other private institutions will hike their fees. I don’t think the intention is to make enormous amounts of money here. This is a not-for-profit institute. What we will try to do is to keep it as affordable as possible. But you have to ensure a certain quality of education. Now if this institution turns out to be overly expensive, alternatives will come up. Competition will always work, even in the education market. We have lots of entities that can provide quantity, but we need to ensure that we have at least some that can provide quality. As I said, there are institutions that are very respectable out there.

Will it have courses like monetary economics etc, where you could be engaged? I think there would be a course in economics. Any course in economics will certainly teach undergrads micro economics, macro-economics and so on. The extent to which it specializes into master’s level courses that will have to stage two or three down the line. Initially what we want to give is strong undergrad curriculum for the students who are coming in.

Source:

http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/need-to-give-quality-education-in-india-to-students-who-fly-overseas-rajan-118032400010_1.html

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Pakistan: Quality education vital for progress: Tirmzi

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Pakistan/ March 13, 2018/Source: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/

Federal Minister for Norcotics Control General (r) Salahud Din Tirmzi said that education played a vital role in economic development of the country and urged the students to get quality education so that they could contribute towards national progress and stability.

Addressing the annual prize distribution ceremony of Jinnah Preparatory School held at the auditorium of Rawalpindi Arts Council on Sunday, Salahud Din Tirmzi said that education was the only way to overcome poverty, ignorance, unemployment and extremism.

He said, “It is the need of hour that we invest in education and provide a conductive environment to the kids for education to enable them to combat the challenges of the future.”

He appreciated the high standard of education at Jinnah Preparatory School, which had provided opportunities to the students to express their capabilities and talents in an efficient manner. He congratulated the parents of students who secured positions in the annual examinations.

Jinnah Preparatory School Head Abdul Qadir Hai said that no society could progress without education and mutual cooperation of parents and teachers.

Later, the chief guest awarded prizes and certificates among the students who showed outstanding performance in different categories.

The ceremony was also attended by parents, faculty members and students. The well prepared kids of Jinnah Preparatory School presented beautiful tableaus, dramas, skits, a fancy dress show and a cultural show.

Source:

Quality education vital for progress: Tirmzi

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Pakistan: Quality education to be provided in AJK under HEC standards

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Pakistan/February 20, 2018/Source: https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk

Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan has said that providing quality higher education at the doorstep of students will be made a reality with the rigorous assurance that HEC standards are met.

The president said this while chaired a meeting held to discuss the modalities and procedural formalities for establishing the Neelum-Jhelum sub-campus of the AJK University. He said, “Our universities will be made competitive and graduating students will be provided education in line with international standards.” The president, who is also the chancellor of AJK public sector universities, asserted the need to provide quality higher educational facilities to the people of Azad Kashmir. He said that the government was committed to establishing tertiary level institutions in AJK.

AJK University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Kaleem Abbasi, in his introductory remarks, apprised the president that a 193 kanal of land for the Neelum sub-campus has been identified at Tangot. The VC informed that payments for the land would soon be made in order to guarantee it acquisition. He also briefed the president that funds for construction of prefabricated structures have been committed by the AJK government and further coordination for acquiring the said funds would be made.

The president said procedural formalities for acquiring the said land needed to be completed on priority and a desired an update on the situation may be presented in a week’s time. He further said that additional land identified at Islampura would also be processed for the sub-campus.

He thanked AJK Legislative Assembly Speaker Shah Ghulam Qadir for dedicating his time and extending his sincerest efforts in assisting the university and district administration in addressing issues related to the establishment of the Neelum sub-campus. The president said that timely completion of the derivative projects would be ensured.

Higher Education Commission Chairman Prof Dr Mukhtar Ahmad also informed that in the first phase, HEC would provide Rs 5 million for construction of the Neelum sub-campus. The AJK president commended the support of HEC chairman and said that with the help of HEC we would ensure the highest standards of education at all public sector universities in AJK.

Shah Ghulam Qadir, Higher Education Commission Chairman Prof Dr Mukhtar Ahmad, AJK University VC Prof Dr Kaleem Abbasi, Higher Education Secretary Zahid Khan and deputy commissioners of Neelum and Jhelum attended the meeting.

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/02/18/quality-education-to-be-provided-in-ajk-under-hec-standards/
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